British Open 2026: The cigarette-smoking, Cinderella YouTuber leading at Royal Birkdale
· Yahoo Sports
SOUTHPORT, England — Every major needs an outsider. This morning at Royal Birkdale it's a college dropout with a YouTube channel, a pack of cigarettes, bird tattoos and a share of the lead.
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"Yeah, very nice day," Dan Brown said after a Thursday 66. "Tee to green, it's similar to how I've been playing recently. But today a few putts dropped, which was nice to see because I've not seen that for a while."
Two years ago at Royal Troon, Brown introduced himself to the wider golf world. In a sport that runs on star power, he arrived as a comet with a story easy to fall for. Small town, humble means. Left university, only to experience a hard eject from the mini-tours. So broke he applied for jobs at a supermarket. He quit the game entirely, convinced his good wasn't good enough, and fell into a dark place. He came back only because the pandemic left him nothing else to do.
That backdrop, paired with viral footage of Brown smoking darts in a thunderstorm, made him a social-media darling at Troon. He led after the first round, drew one of the final Sunday tee times, and finished T-10. Some stability followed. Brown earned his PGA Tour card by way of providence: he missed the DP World Tour's direct pathway, finishing 11th in that race, then inherited eligibility when Laurie Canter forfeited his exemption to join LIV. However, the rookie season has been rough, 145th in the FedEx Cup standings and missed cuts in seven of his last ten starts. Thursday looked headed the same direction. Brown was one over through seven on a course showing little early teeth. Then three straight birdies starting at the eighth, with two more late—highlighted by a tasty up-and-down at the 17th—giving him a five-under blitz that turned into a 66 and a share of the morning lead with Sungjae Im.
"I think it's just a fair golf course. There's not too many humps and undulations in the fairway, so if you hit a good shot, generally it stays in the fairway, which I like," Brown said. "I thought after a few holes the wind was going to get stronger and stronger, but it just kind of stayed the same for most of the day. Whether it picks up again this afternoon, I'm not sure. You've still got to play good golf even though the wind is laying down a little right now."
The golf hasn't been there lately, but he’s been keeping himself occupied with other endeavors. "Beers Before Bogeys" is Brown and his childhood mates filming YouTube shorts best described as lads being lads. Where most golf influencers traffic in brazen or unwitting self-regard, Brown's videos run on the plain joy of golf and friendship. He's wandered into odder territory too: exploring Texas, a haunted tour in New Orleans, some pictures of closes a littllllllle too tight for him. For anyone allergic to the look-at-me strain of influencer content — and, candidly, some golf media — it's a relief.
It's one round, so it’s not worth making too much of a deal out of shots and strokes. Perhaps that’s why most of his post-round presser was trying (and failing) to explain why has bird tatoos on his skin. But Brown's name atop a leaderboard is a welcome wrinkle in what should be four good days, complicated only by the fact that Birkdale's crispy conditions make his cigarette habit a minor fire hazard. "I've been making sure that they're out," Brown said. "I probably — sorry, mom — I'm probably on like seven or eight a round, I'd say."
Habit aside, it’s a nice reminder that behind all the noise about Scottie and Tommy and Rory, there are guys on the margins chasing exactly this. A lifetime to get here. No guarantee it happens. And when it does, it doesn't last. That's kind of the point, though. Brown had his moment in 2024 and thought it might be gone for good. It wasn't. Unlike his cigarettes, this is a fire that keeps finding a way to relight.